Localvore: Pancakes build on local ingredients

Paleo-friendly 'Egg Foo Young-ish' pancakes build on local ingredients that offer a hint of springtime

Mar. 31, 2014

'Egg Foo Young-ish' pancakes start with ingredients friendly for the 'paleo' diet and build from there with localvore ingredients into a tasty, portable meal ó that even offers some hints of spring's arrival. / MELISSA PASANEN/FOR THE FREE PRESS

Written by

Free Press Correspondent

For some reason this late winter has been especially abundant in opportunities to make meals for friends who have had babies (happy!) and broken limbs (not so happy). Iíve delivered the usual easily portable and re-heatable soups and casseroles, but recently a friendís dietary needs required something a bit different.

This particular friend has been trying to conquer some health issues by eating along the guidelines of a diet that has been dubbed ďpaleoĒ or ďcaveman.Ē Without getting into all the details, the diet essentially eliminates all grains, legumes, dairy and refined sugars. No potatoes, either.

Iím quite sure I would die on this diet, but some people swear by it, and my rule of thumb with food is that itís such a personal thing, if restricting what you eat makes you feel better (and doesnít drive your loved ones crazy), go for it.

So I headed over to one of the websites this friend suggested for recipes and found a nice option in these eggy pancake-like things that were easy to whip up (once I obtained coconut flour in the gluten-free section of a local market) with many ingredients that happen to be localvore.

Despite the continued cold, there is more light in each day, which means more local eggs and hardier greens such as spinach grown in unheated or low-heat greenhouses.

Thereís always ham to be found from various local farms, and the chives come from a bushy green plant on my dining room table.

At the Burlington farmers market a few weeks ago, I got this little pot of chives from Amir Hebib of Colchester, who is known most for his mushrooms, but who also cultivates and sells potted herbs and small succulents.

Every mud season, there is a little spot near my driveway where some volunteer chives reliably pop up to become my first-of-the-year homegrown edibles.

That seems a long way off today as I look out at my snowy yard, but I know it will come.

In the meantime, Iíve been regularly snipping Amirís chives and throwing them into everything to remind me that spring is indeed on its way. It hasnít failed me yet.

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Egg Foo Young-ish

Egg Foo Young-ish

These eggy pancakes go well with guacamole or salsa. I brought them to my friend with a paleo-friendly and mostly localvore red cabbage and carrot slaw with a tangy carrot-ginger dressing also from nomnompaleo.com.

INGREDIENTS

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon minced fresh chives (Tip: I give my plant a haircut with clean kitchen scissors and then snip those straight into the bowl)

Coarse kosher salt, to taste (at least 1/2 teaspoon)

ľ cup coconut flour (see testing note)

Ĺ teaspoon baking soda

2 cups packed fresh baby spinach leaves

2⁄3 cup diced ham

Ĺ teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Freshly ground black pepper

Oil for frying

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, chives and salt. Whisk in coconut flour and baking soda.

2. Steam spinach leaves with a tablespoon of water in the microwave or briefly wilt them in a pan with a splash of water on the stove. Squeeze spinach as dry as you can and roughly chop.

4. In a large skillet set over medium heat, heat a tablespoon of frying oil. Scoop 3 tablespoons of batter per pancake and place in hot oil, flattening batter to about Ĺ-inch thick. Fry for about two minutes each side until golden brown and cooked through. Repeat as necessary, adding more oil, until all batter is used up.

Serve hot or deliver to a friend with instructions to re-heat, covered, in a low oven.

Free Press testing note: Paleo recipes are also gluten-free, which makes these pancakes a good option for friends who are avoiding gluten. I also tried a version with regular old flour and the batter was looser than with coconut flour but they worked just fine. They should work similarly with other wheat flour alternatives like rice flour.